


Promise Fulfilled

by hermitpanda



Series: Pinky Promise [2]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 07:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10212434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermitpanda/pseuds/hermitpanda
Summary: He sucked in a breath and stared at the woman he’d been waiting 20 years to marry.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't ready to put Jack & Ellie's story to bed yet, so I wrote more tooth-rotting diabetic-coma-inducing fluff. Enjoy! :D
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters. I'm just borrowing them.

Jack fidgeted with his cuffs nervously. He reached up and touched his tie, ensuring the lavender fabric was still hanging straight against his white shirt. He had teased Ellie about wanting a super casual wedding when she had asked him to not wear a coat or vest for the ceremony, but he was glad now. He was sure if he had been wearing one it would have been a wrinkled mess by now from all of his jerky movements. 

He had to keep his back turned to the assembled guests waiting in the Reids’ backyard. They had kept the gathering small. Only their family so there were less than 30 people in attendance. But Jack knew that he might start crying at any time if he made eye contact with his dad or saw the two seats deliberately left open in remembrance of his mom and Ellie’s mom. Even though they barely remembered Haley and Austin, they had both wanted to make sure they were included in the wedding somehow.

Just like they had promised when they were little, they had both followed their fathers’ career paths. Because of her multiple doctorates, Ellie had been granted the exemptions needed to have already secured a place within the BAU and would be reporting for her first day after they returned from their honeymoon in Italy, their wedding present from Uncle Dave. Jack was taking the traditional route to the BAU getting there by working through the FBI ranks. He would be staying in the SWAT unit leading his own team until he had enough time in the Bureau to apply to the BAU.

“Calm down, man. No way she’s bailing on you.” Shawn smiled reassuringly. He had gotten himself ordained online at Ellie’s request so that he could act as officiant for his friends while Henry was Jack’s best man and Gracie was Ellie’s maid of honor.

Henry touched his shoulder and turned him towards the doorway. Ellie stood there next to her father. He sucked in a breath and stared at the woman he’d been waiting 20 years to marry. He was absolutely certain that it was the first time he had ever seen her wearing fewer than two clashing patterns. She had gone simple with her dress. His youngest sister, Annie, was intent on being the next big fashion designer and had made the white shirt dress. He had been banished from his parents’ basement for the past three months so that he would be unable to catch even the smallest glimpse of his bride’s dress. His sister had even hand-glittered the lavender belt and flats Ellie was wearing.

Jack kept his eyes locked with Ellie’s as Spencer guided her to him. The wind fluttered the curls around her face, making her wrinkle her nose when several strands caught on it. He reached out and brushed the hair back for her with a smile. Spencer patted his arm and moved to his seat.

He concentrated on the feel of Ellie’s fingers squeezing his own while Shawn began the ceremony. The three of them had worked together to write a ceremony that was personal and completely theirs. “Jack and Ellie have opted to write their own vows. Jack?” Shawn prompted.

He licked his lips and let go of Ellie’s hands. He took his notes from his pocket before extending one hand back to her with his pinky extended. She grinned and hooked her pinky around his. “Ellie, twenty years ago today, in that room,” he pointed to her childhood bedroom window, “I made a promise to you that we would get married after you had become a doctor and we had both started working at the FBI. Every moment of the last twenty years, I have dedicated myself to keeping that promise, and I’ve never regretted it. I’m the man I am today because I try to be a man deserving to be your husband. Every fiber of my being is dedicated to making you happy, to making sure that you know how much I love you, to ensuring that you know how proud I am of everything that you’ve accomplished so far and will accomplish in the future. Today I’m making a new promise to you, that I will continue to try to deserve you for the rest of my life. Wherever the future takes us, I want to be the man at your side. Pinky promise.”

Shawn smiled and turned to Ellie. “Ellie?”

She smiled at Jack and tightened her pinky around his. “Jack, you were my very first friend and while there have been several more, you’re the only man that I’ve ever loved. Accelerating through school, getting all of my degrees, joining the FBI, getting into the BAU, none of that would have happened if I hadn’t had you by my side. I knew that anyone who stuck by my side for homemade hot air balloons and turning Uncle Dave’s swimming pool into a giant bubble bath, even when others wouldn’t,” she sent Henry a playful glare over Jack’s shoulder, “was going to support me anything that I wanted to accomplish. I have never doubted your commitment to the pinky promise from twenty years ago. There’s no one else that I would want at my side going through the future. Today I’m making a new promise to you, that I will continue to try to deserve you for the rest of my life. Wherever the future takes us, I want to be the woman at your side. Pinky promise.”

Shawn prompted them to exchange the simple wedding bands they had picked out. “Twenty years ago, Jack and Ellie made a pinky promise and sealed it with a kiss. It’s time for them to seal their new promises to each other with a kiss.”

Jack cupped Ellie’s cheeks and brought their lips together. She lifted her hands to grip his wrists as he deepened the kiss. They pulled apart after a moment when their family started cheering. Ellie blushed and buried her face in her husband’s neck.

Shawn clapped Jack on the shoulder as the pair turned towards their audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you with the newest Mr. and Mrs. Hotchner?” 


End file.
